Joy

Early in the morning on Saturday, July 2nd, Joy and her mother Trisha got in their minivan to make the long drive to the beach. As they started on their way, Joy was leaning toward the middle of the van to put the address for the beach into the navigation system when Trisha saw a car stopped in the middle of the interstate. Trisha tried to evade the car, but it clipped the back end of her van. The van began to spin, hitting the concrete barrier on the passenger side of the van where Joy was sitting. The violent collision caused the whole side of the car to crush down on Joy.

Moments after the wreck they were still. Trisha remembered thinking, “I can’t believe we are okay.” At that moment, she looked over at Joy to express her thoughts and realized that Joy was not okay. Joy sat, staring vacantly ahead. Time passed as Joy remained unresponsive. It was not until Trisha began singing “Amazing Grace” that Joy finally began to move.

At that moment, first responders arrived to cut her out of the car and rush her to Children’s at Erlanger. Doctors initially told Trisha that her daughter would have to undergo multiple surgeries, but she only needed one. Joy suffered from a compound fracture of one femur, broken tibias in both legs, a broken ulna in her arm, a broken nose, multiple lacerations all over including her face and eyelid, and a badly bruised thigh. Although she had many life-threatening injuries, she had no damage to her brain or internal organs. After seven and a half hours, and with the remarkable work from trauma surgeons, doctors, nurses, and technicians, Joy came out of surgery. She then spent five days in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) and two nights in the Children’s hospital.

Joy is making progress each and every day. She has stood up and begun weight bearing exercises on all injured limbs. She is back in school, working hard and loving time with her friends. Trisha says, “Her courage, perseverance, grace, joy and love humble and inspire. We are so thankful for the many who bless us with help, encouragement, and prayers. We praise her Creator for healing and for the strength and beauty born from pain and suffering. It is quite humbling and yet exciting to have front-row seats as God’s plan and purpose for Joy’s part in his Kingdom unfolds.”